Search

The research presented in this paper introduces a novel environmental energy‐harvesting technology that harnesses electricity from the evaporation of water using porous structural materials. Specifically, a strategy employing paper‐based hydroelectric generators (p‐HEGs) is proposed to capture the energy produced during water evaporation and convert it into usable electricity. The p‐HEGs offer several advantages, including simplicity in fabrication, low cost, and reusability. To evaluate their effectiveness, the water evaporation‐induced electrical output performance of four different p‐HEGs are compared. Among the variants tested, the p‐HEG combining wood pulp and polyester fiber exhibits the best output performance. At room temperature, this particular p‐HEG generates a short‐circuit current and open‐circuit voltage of ≈0.4 µA and 0.3 V, respectively, thereby demonstrating excellent electrical stability. Furthermore, the electrical current and voltage generated by the p‐HEG through water evaporation are able to power an LED light, both individually and in series and parallel connections. This study delves into the potential of electricity harvesting from water evaporation and establishes it as a viable method for renewable energy applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Gallium-based room-temperature liquid metals (LMs) have unique physicochemical properties; however, their high surface tension, low flowability, and high corrosiveness to other materials limit their advanced processing (including precise shaping) and application. Consequently, LM-rich free-flowing powders, named "dry LMs" that offer the inherent advantages of dry powders, should play a critical role in expanding the application scope of LMs. A general method of preparing silica-nanoparticle-stabilized LMs in the form of LM-rich powders (>95 wt% LM) is developed. Dry LMs can be simply prepared by mixing LMs with silica nanoparticles in a planetary centrifugal mixer in the absence of solvents. As a sustainable dry-process route alternative to wet-process routes, this ecofriendly and simple method of dry LM fabrication has several advantages, e.g., high throughput, scalability, and low toxicity owing to the lack of organic dispersion agents and milling media. Moreover, the unique photothermal properties of dry LMs are used for photothermal electric power generation. Thus, dry LMs not only pave the way for the use of LMs in powder form but also provide a new opportunity for expanding their application scope in energy conversion systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are devices that produce electricity due to the temperature difference between their cold and hot surfaces. The enhanced heat transfer from the cold surfaces of TEGs can increase their electricity efficiency. In this research, an experiment was arranged to study the direct and indirect contact of cooling water on the cold surfaces of the TEGs series and its results on their electricity efficiency. In this experiment, cooling water was flowing inside an aluminum tube with a rectangular cross-section. By changing the slope of the pipe, mixed convection was created in the cooling water. The results showed that the electrical efficiency of the TEGs was higher in the conditions of indirect contact as well as opposing mixed convection. In one of the results, the maximum electricity generation in indirect contact is 48 mW at pipe slop of 30 ∘ to 35 mW at pipe slop of 90 ∘ , more than direct contact. Since the connection of cold surfaces of TEGs happens indirectly through expensive metal plates such as copper and aluminum, therefore, the results of this research can be useful in the economic evaluation and improvement of such devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, there is a disagreement among the actors since the demand for water resources has gained more momentum. Sharing water resources, regional actors want to have control over water which has a wide range of functions either electricity generation or agricultural activities. Therefore, the willingness of actors to actively use and manage water fuels disagreements at the regional level and hinders cooperation. Herein water diplomacy tools are used to prevent the occurrence of disputes related to water resources or to transform the existing conflict into regional cooperation. Water diplomacy promotes the establishment of trust bonds between actors, as well as constitutes the step of cooperation by encouraging the start of problems between actors through dialogue. In this study, the question of what the role of water diplomacy and tools in is establishing and maintaining the cooperation structure in regional water disputes constitutes the basis to be. At the regional level in the conflict over water resources, the role of water diplomacy in the development and sustainability of cooperation is discussed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of renewable resource integration influences the demand-supply balance significantly. The effort taken to diminish the deviation in demand-supply balance is greatly influenced by demand response (DR) strategy. In this analysis, the concept of DR is incorporated via the approach of load management. The optimal scheduling of the load considering the available energy helps to avoid unessential load shedding. The DR strategy of load shifting is suggested at different levels in accordance with the nature of load and real-time price. The profit of the utility is enhanced by providing the customer the flexibility to schedule their load. The curtailment of load can be avoided by increased customer participation in the suggested DR programs. The operating system is designed to be both efficient and effective by utilizing the real-time tariff profile of electricity to plan the generation of renewable energy, energy storage systems that include electric vehicles, and the utilization of grid power. The scalability and generalization of the proposed DR approach make it suitable for large-scale power systems that integrate renewable energy sources. The validation of the proposed method using reliability analysis ensures the effectiveness of the formulated DR. The proposed method is tested under two different scenarios and topologies on the IEEE-33 bus system and the results accomplished are promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

:To solve the problem that practical applications of devices in the field of moisture generation are limited by complex preparation processes and high material costs, we developed an environmentally friendly, low-cost wood-based moisture generator (W -MEG) by a simple modified process. Firstly, the wood was delignified using a 2. 5% sodium chlorite (NaClO2 ) solution to keep its natural water transport channels open. Secondly, we prepared sodium alginate / reduced graphene oxide (SA/ rGO) hydrogels with excellent moisture absorption and ion diffusion ability and coated them onto the wood surface. Finally, to further improve the power generation performance of the prepared W-MEG, the degree of hydrogel immersion into the internal channels of the wood was controlled by adjusting the time of the reduced pressure impregnation process to form an asymmetric structure with more top and less bottom, which further expanded the ion concentration distribution. Based on this asymmetrical structure, taking advantage of wood's natural directional water transport properties and ion diffusion effects, our W-MEG can generate an open-circuit voltage of 220 mV and a short-circuit current of 0. 28 μA at 80% relative humidity (RH), with a power output in the RH range of 35%-95%. In addition, by integrating multiple W-MEG units, it can be used as an efficient power source to drive miniature commercial devices such as LEDs, which has the potential for practical applications. This study provides new insights into simple, inexpensive and efficient moisture energy harvesting devices and enables novel technologies for the utilization of wood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of smart grid technologies has facilitated the integration of new and intermittent renewable forms of electricity generation in power systems. Advancements are driving transformations in the context of energy planning and operations in many countries around the world, particularly impacting short-term horizons. Therefore, one of the primary challenges in this environment is to accurately provide forecasting of the short-term load demand. This is a critical task for creating supply strategies, system reliability decisions, and price formation in electricity power markets. In this context, nonlinear models, such as Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines, have gained popularity over the years due to advancements in mathematical techniques as well as improved computational capacity. The academic literature highlights various approaches to improve the accuracy of these machine learning models, including data segmentation by similar patterns, input variable selection, forecasting from hierarchical data, and net load forecasts. In Brazil, the national independent system operator improved the operation planning in the short term through the DESSEM model, which uses short-term load forecast models for planning the day-ahead operation of the system. Consequently, this study provides a comprehensive review of various methods used for short-term load forecasting, with a particular focus on those based on machine learning strategies, and discusses the Brazilian Experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several power take-off (PTO) architectures for wave-powered reverse osmosis (RO) desalination of seawater are introduced and compared based on the annual average freshwater production and the size of the components, which strongly relate to the costs of the system. The set of architectures compared includes a novel series-type PTO architecture not previously considered. These seawater hydraulic PTO architectures are composed of a WEC-driven pump, an RO module, an intake charge pump driven by an electric motor, and a hydraulic motor driving an electric generator for electric power production. This study is performed using an efficient two-way coupled steady-state model for the average performance of the system in a given sea state, including freshwater permeate production, electric power production, and electric power consumption. A multi-objective design problem is formulated for the purposes of this comparative study, with the objectives of maximizing annual freshwater production, minimizing the displacement of the WEC-driven pump, and minimizing the installed RO membrane area. This establishes a framework for comparison in the absence of a mature techno-economic model. The requirement that the system produces enough electric power to meet its consumption is applied as a constraint on the operation of the system. The oscillating wave surge converter Oyster 1 is assumed as the WEC. Weights on performance of the system in a given sea state are based on historical data from Humboldt Bay, CA. This study finds that (1) architectures in a series configuration allow for a reduction in the WEC-driven pump size of 59–92% compared to prior work, (2) varying the displacement of the WEC-driven pump between sea conditions does not provide any significant advantage in performance, and (3) varying the active RO membrane area between sea condition offers improvements between 7% and 41% in each design objective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is much organic waste that comes from by-products of agriculture and product processing, solid waste from livestock, and municipal waste. Conventional methods that are widely used for the treatment and management of organic fractions of waste are landfilling, composting, anaerobic digestion, incineration, gasification, and pyrolysis. Among the above methods, pyrolysis is a relatively simple, robust, and scalable technology for transforming diverse organic waste feedstock into renewable energy products. Recently, the electrochemical conversion of biochar into electricity in direct carbon fuel cells (DCFC) has also been investigated and shown to be feasible and highly efficient. This paper focuses on the utilization of organic waste as a fuel and the investigation of their characteristics during electrochemical reactions in molten hydroxide direct carbon fuel cells (MH-DCFCs). Organic waste of different origins (the food-processing industry, urban and suburban areas, municipal solid organic waste, sewage sludge) with diversified characteristics was used as the main feedstock. The lowest power density was determined for sewage sludge (5.1 mW cm−2), and the best results were obtained for peanut shells (53.14 mW cm−2). This study concludes that higher elemental carbon, lower ash content and the presence of reactive surface oxygen functional groups in biochar obtained from organic waste might contribute to better cell performance. Moreover, the research establishes the potential of carbonized organic waste as a prospective alternative fuel source for power generation in an MH-DCFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in the number of small renewable energy sources (RES) power plants and the volume of generated energy in the years 2016–2020, with an outlook to year 2025. The study covered the area of Poland, including the division into provinces and different sources of renewable energy. Absolute values of electric power production and sale were presented, in addition to calculated structure indices. Moreover, the number and structure of small power plants using different renewable energy sources was determined for every Polish province. A classification of the provinces was made, where four classes were distinguished depending on the number of RES plants operating in the provinces. The research results allowed us to diagnose the current situation and make a prognosis for the future, which may translate into support for the development of particular types of installations, depending on the natural and economic characteristics of each area. The added value of the study stems from the fact that previous reports focused mainly on micro or large power plants and the time span covered data before and during the pandemic. This made it possible to assess the impact of the pandemic on the development of small renewable energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the applicability of a tracking photovoltaic (PV) system installed in the roof area of a commercial building. Because PVWatts is the only PV module with a tracking feature in EnergyPlus, its electricity generation was validated through comparisons with detailed PV modules in EnergyPlus. The tracking PV system generated 26.8–35.5% more electricity annually than a fixed system in the climate of Incheon (S. Korea). The load coverage analysis of the tracking PV system was conducted with the reference commercial building model in EnergyPlus. Approximately 14% of the total building electric demand, including heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning; lighting; and equipment, was met by one PV array. Finally, the life cycle cost analysis of the tracking PV system was conducted by considering the net present value, which includes the initial installation and operation costs. The initial investment was returned after approximately 8 years, assuming between two and six tracking PV arrays were installed. Moreover, up to 26.8% cost savings were achieved in 15 years compared to the case without any PV arrays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dutch climate agreement anticipates the large-scale implementation of solar and wind energy systems on land and water. Combining solar and wind farms has the benefit of multiple surface area use, and it also has the advantage of energy generation from both solar and wind energy systems, which is rather complementary in time; thus, a better balance can be found between electricity generation and demand and the load on the electricity grid. In combined solar and wind farms (CSWFs), the turbines will cast shadows on the solar panels. This concerns the static shadow from the construction tower of the turbine as well as the dynamic shadow caused by the rotating blades. This paper reports on the results of millisecond data monitoring of the PV farm of a CSWF in the Netherlands on land. Static and dynamic shadow effects are discussed, as well as their dependency on farm design. It is observed that the dynamic shade of the wind turbine blade causes serious disturbances of the DC inputs of the inverter, resulting in deviation of the maximum power point tracking monitored. The shadow of the wind turbine results in a total energy loss of about 6% for the given period, park configuration, PV modules, inverter type, and setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2021, Bangladesh reached 97% nation‐wide electricity access. With over 4.1 million solar home systems (SHS) installed by 60 Partner Organisations (POs) providing renewable electricity to more than 22 million rural people, SHS and microfinance have been instrumental in bridging and achieving the country's universal access goal. However, a huge gap remains in achieving the country's 100% use of renewable energy by 2050, with only 3.1% of current electricity generation accounted for by renewables. While at centralised level, governmental institutions are struggling to move past the legacy mandate of grid extension to an energy transformation paradigm at decentralised levels, rural Bangladeshi villages are already leading this transformation. Today, 100 solar peer‐to‐peer microgrids, built following the swarm electrification pathway, allow end‐users to run appliances, charge vehicles, and to trade renewable electricity for income. In this paper, we describe the organisational model of the partnership between Grameen Shakti, Bangladesh's largest PO, and climate‐tech start‐up ME SOLshare, the swarm electrification implementer. We assess, using data from the peer‐to‐peer grids, their socio‐economic and environmental impact, and their contribution to the SDG 2030 Agenda. Finally, we give an outlook towards the potential of achieving sustainable energy development through a scale‐up of the swarm electrification approach, including under a scenario of 100% national grid electrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the climate crisis intensifies, the urgency for sustainable, agroecological farming practices has never been greater. This study explores the potential of agrivoltaic systems (AVSs) to meet these needs efficiently. Utilizing geographic information systems for quantitative analysis, this research assesses the electricity generation, agricultural output, job creation, and economic impact of implementing AVS in Japan's Kansai region. The study identifies an ample generation potential, including up to 14,041 GWh/year of electricity generation, suggesting that AVSs could be instrumental in shaping effective policies for both decarbonization and food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model Predictive Control (MPC) and Direct Power Control (DPC) are widely used in Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) applications. However, in the context of DPC‐based MPC for DFIG, there has been a lack of literature focusing on the design of the MPC parameters. In this way, this article introduces a novel technique for designing weighing matrices in Direct Power Model Predictive Control using the Fake Algebraic Riccati Equation (FARE). As FARE is associated with the infinite receding horizon, a small receding horizon can be designed without compromising the robustness. Furthermore, this article presents a computationally efficient linear state‐space model for DPC that, when combined with a small receding horizon FARE design, offers a controller with low computational cost and robustness. The proposed theory is validated through experimental results under normal operation, variable speed operation, and parameter variations. Additionally, the proposed controller is compared to other MPC approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harvesting low grade hydrodynamic energy is attracting growing interest. Droplet generators have recently emerged as promising harvesting devices. However, toward practical utilization, their power density and energy conversion efficiency still warrant further improvement. In addition, the performance of droplet generators typically degrades when in contact with ambient water, significantly limiting their applications considering that they, by definition, are constantly exposed to water. This work reports a field‐enhanced droplet electricity generator (FE‐DEG) that significantly address these challenges. Using the field effect induced by a bias voltage to store high volumetric charge in the dielectric layer, the amount of charge that transfers during droplet impinging is significantly increased, which simultaneously improves the instantaneous power density and energy conversion efficiency. In addition, the performance of the generator can be reliably set by the external bias and remains stable after repeated immersion in bulk water, and even in some harsh chemical conditions. It is expected that this work may also inspire other robust energy harvesting devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyzwitterionic hydrogel is an emerging material for solar‐driven water evaporation in saline environment due to its special anti‐polyelectrolyte effect, which is a promising approach to co‐generation of freshwater and electricity. However, the molecular impact on anti‐polyelectrolyte effect remains unclear, let alone to optimize the zwitterionic structure to promote water evaporation efficiency in high‐salinity brine. Herein, a molecularly engineered zwitterionic hydrogel is developed and the incorporated phenyl‐methylene‐imidazole motif greatly enhances the salt binding ability and strengthens anti‐polyelectrolyte effect, leading to boosted hydration, improved salt tolerance, ultra‐low evaporation enthalpy (almost half of traditional zwitterionic gel), and durable anti‐microbial ability in brine. Besides, gradient solar‐thermal network is penetrated to optimize water transport channel and heat confinement. The gel exhibits excellent evaporation rate of 3.17 kg m−2 h−1 in seawater, which is 1.6 times of that in water and such high efficiency could be maintained during 8 h continuous desalination, demonstrating outstanding salt tolerance. The high flux of ion stream can generate considerable voltage (321.3 mV) simultaneously. This work will bring new insights to the understanding of anti‐polyelectrolyte effect at molecular level and promote materials design for saline water evaporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study covers the technical and economic analysis of a grid-connected rooftop 216 kWp photovoltaic (PV) system to meet the average annual energy demand of 45,327 kWh of a dairy farm. According to the results of the analysis, an average of 326,819 kWh/year is received at the output of the panel arrays, while 294,838 kWh/year is supplied to the grid. The amount of energy to be received from the grid was found to be 25,013 kWh/year, and the performance ratio of the system was 0.808. The net present value (NPV) of the system was calculated as $36,463.39, and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) was calculated as 0.065 $/kWh. Considering that the annual electricity generation amount of the rooftop PV system evaluated within the scope of the study is 315,152 kWh, it is estimated that 127.419 tCO2 per year of emission release will be prevented annually with the installation of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The choice of refrigerant and expander is always one of the main concerns of researchers using organic Rankine cycles. The problem of using the organic Rankine cycle becomes more complicated when there are two waste heat sources with different temperatures in a system, such as exhaust gas and jacket water heat sources in an internal combustion engine. Hence, in this paper, a thermoeconomic program is developed using four types of volumetric expanders, including piston, screw, scroll and root, and eight different organic fluids in the series double cascade-evaporator organic Rankine cycle. The studied organic fluids were selected to cover a wide range of pressure levels in the series double cascade-evaporator organic Rankine cycle, including R245 FA, R123, n-pentane, acetone, n-heptane, benzene, n-octane and toluene. In the present study, 16 different pairs of expanders were examined for a cohort of 8 dissimilar fluids, resulting in an aggregate of 128 distinctive cases. In each of the 128 different cases, the important parameters, including power production, exergetic efficiency, total investment cost, net present value and levelized cost of electricity generation, are calculated. Also, the Pareto method is used to select the best organic fluid and expander pair. The results show the fluids with lower critical temperatures performed better due to the pressure ratio limit. The lowest cost of the expander compared to the total cost was 4.98%, related to the pair of root–scroll expanders, and the highest cost of 48.21% was related to the piston–screw expander pair. The lowest total investment cost was 377,478$ for the n-pentane and the piston–scroll expander pair. The screw expander costs more than other expanders, especially when in the low-pressure cycle. According to the optimization results, the optimal pair of expanders for the series double cascade-evaporator organic Rankine cycle system is scroll–scroll with n-pentane as the working fluid. Additionally, the exergetic efficiency, payback period and total investment cost values in this case are 0.3945, 4.089 years and 385,786$, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid oxide cells are reversible energy‐conversion devices for electric power generation and fuel production with high efficiency. However, robust cell structures and multifunctional electrodes must be provided to achieve high cell performance under multifuel conditions. Herein, a precisely controlled metal‐supported structure and dual‐nanocomposite catalyst is presented. The thermal and shrinkage behaviors of the metal supports play a crucial role in determining the interconnectivity between cell components. Compared to micron‐sized cermets, the dual‐nanocomposite electrode with tremendous three‐phase boundaries drastically improves cell performance by increasing the electrochemical activity for diverse fuel reactions. The developed cells exhibited outstanding maximum power densities of 1.1 and 1.0 W cm−2 in fuel‐cell mode using H2 and CO fuels, and current densities of −0.61 and −0.5 A cm−2 in electrolysis‐cell mode (1.3 V) under H2O/H2 and CO2/CO conditions at 650 °C. These findings suggest fundamental techniques for improving the structural stability and activity of cell components to operate in diverse fuel systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar-driven steam generation (SSG) systems for sustainable clean water desalination and purification through photothermal conversion have been widely studied. Integrating solar-driven electricity generation (SEG) including hydroelectricity, saline electricity, moisture electricity, and thermoelectricity during the evaporation process is an effective way to utilize energy comprehensively. Carbon materials with superior stability, processability, practicability, abundance, and cost-effectiveness have aroused tremendous attention in the solar-driven steam and electricity generation (SSEG) field. Carbon materials can simultaneously play the essential role of solar absorbers for energy harvesting and conductive substrates for energy generation during SSEG. In this review, energy harvesting and generation mechanisms of carbon materials with different dimensions are first introduced. Afterward, the hybrid evaporation-induced electricity generation devices including hydroelectricity, saline electricity, moisture electricity, and thermoelectricity, and relevant efficiency-improving strategies are demonstrated. Moreover, the potential applications in power supply, energy storage, and electrical sensors are also discussed. Finally, some remaining challenges are considered, and suggestions for future development are sincerely proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New stable frictional materials based on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are greatly desired for applications in self-powered systems. This work reports an ionic MOF material with efficient charge separation mediated by charge induction. ZUT-iMOF-1(Cu) is chemically stable and its triboelectric output performance surpasses those of traditional MOF materials. The short-circuit current of the iMOF triboelectric nanogenerator is 73.79 μA at 5 Hz. The output performance remains stable over 50 000 cycles of continuous operation. The charge and power densities peak at 123.20 μC m−2 and 3133.23 mW m−2. Owing to its high output performance, ZUT-iMOF-1(Cu) effectively prevents metal corrosion in cathodic-protection systems. Theoretical calculations show that increasing the charge-separation effect promotes the frictional electricity generation behaviour. This study provides research suggestions for ionic MOF frictional materials and will promote their application in self-powered electrochemical cathodic-protection systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problems with erroneous forecasts of electricity production from solar farms create serious operational, technological, and financial challenges to both Solar farm owners and electricity companies. Accurate prediction results are necessary for efficient spinning reserve planning as well as regulating inertia and power supply during contingency events. In this work, the impact of several climatic conditions on solar electricity generation in Amherst. Furthermore, three machine learning models using Lasso Regression, ridge Regression, ElasticNet regression, and Support Vector Regression, as well as deep learning models for time series analysis include long short-term memory, bidirectional LSTM, and gated recurrent unit along with their variants for estimating solar energy generation for every five-minute interval on Amherst weather power station. These models were evaluated using mean absolute error root means square error, mean square error, and mean absolute percentage error. It was observed that horizontal solar irradiance and water saturation deficiency had a highly proportional relationship with Solar PV electricity generation. All proposed machine learning models turned out to perform well in predicting electricity generation from the analyzed solar farm. Bi-LSTM has performed the best among all models with 0.0135, 0.0315, 0.0012, and 0.1205 values of MAE, RMSE, MSE, and MAPE, respectively. Comparison with the existing methods endorses the use of our proposed RNN variants for higher efficiency, accuracy, and robustness. Multistep-ahead solar energy prediction is also carried out by exploiting hybrids of LSTM, Bi-LSTM, and GRU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current energy crisis, depletion of fossil fuels, and global climate change have made it imperative to find alternative sources of energy that are both economically sustainable and environmentally friendly. Here we review various pathways for converting biomass into bioenergy and biochar and their applications in producing electricity, biodiesel, and biohydrogen. Biomass can be converted into biofuels using different methods, including biochemical and thermochemical conversion methods. Determining which approach is best relies on the type of biomass involved, the desired final product, and whether or not it is economically sustainable. Biochemical conversion methods are currently the most widely used for producing biofuels from biomass, accounting for approximately 80% of all biofuels produced worldwide. Ethanol and biodiesel are the most prevalent biofuels produced via biochemical conversion processes. Thermochemical conversion is less used than biochemical conversion, accounting for approximately 20% of biofuels produced worldwide. Bio-oil and syngas, commonly manufactured from wood chips, agricultural waste, and municipal solid waste, are the major biofuels produced by thermochemical conversion. Biofuels produced from biomass have the potential to displace up to 27% of the world's transportation fuel by 2050, which could result in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by up to 3.7 billion metric tons per year. Biochar from biomass can yield high biodiesel, ranging from 32.8% to 97.75%, and can also serve as an anode, cathode, and catalyst in microbial fuel cells with a maximum power density of 4346 mW/m2. Biochar also plays a role in catalytic methane decomposition and dry methane reforming, with hydrogen conversion rates ranging from 13.4% to 95.7%. Biochar can also increase hydrogen yield by up to 220.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co‐culture of strain Citrobacter sp. RDC and Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA was used in this study and it was found that the co‐culture using 200 mg/L phenol as carbon source exhibited higher maximum current density than using the single strain RDC and G. sulfurreducens PCA, respectively. Meanwhile, the co‐culture was used to generate electricity by degrading phenol with the current density of 699.07 μA/cm2 by using 200 mg/L phenol as the sole carbon source, which was higher than that only using G. sulfurreducens PCA (236.20 μA/cm2). Especially, the degradation efficiency of 200 mg/L phenol by co‐culture can reach 55.16 % within 36 h being 4.16‐fold higher than the single strain G. sulfurreducens PCA. Furthermore, the component ratio of two strains was optimized for increasing electricity generation using 500 mg/L phenol as carbon source. The maximum current density was 501.54 μA/cm2 under the ratio of 3 : 1 for strain RDC to G. sulfurreducens PCA. These results highlight that phenol is good carbon source for co‐culture to produce electricity. The co‐culture system provides a promising application pathway for phenol degradation treatment coupled with electricity generation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In light of the increasing share of renewable energy sources (RES) in electricity generation, the research community is directing their attention toward developing highly efficient DC‐DC high‐gain step‐up converters. These converters are designed to exhibit reduced voltage stress on the switching devices (semiconductors). This paper presents a comprehensive study of a switch voltage stress‐reduced step‐up converter that offers a range of additional features, including the availability of a common ground point, continuous input current, simple two‐mode continuous conduction mode (CCM) operation, wide duty cycle range, and quadratic boosting factor. To achieve the aforementioned features, the converter utilizes two switches with the same operating modes, eliminating the need for complex switching circuitry. Operational modes, steady‐state analysis, and design considerations have been presented in detail. Comparative analysis indicates that the voltage conversion ratio per number of devices in the proposed topology is significantly higher than that of similar topologies. In addition, the voltage stress of switches is considerably less than the topologies addressed in the literature. The study further includes detailed mathematical and experimental analyses, small signal analysis, and hardware implementation to support the theoretical findings. The converter's efficiency has been thoroughly analyzed along with thermal analysis to ensure its reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity is the core of every nation's socioeconomic development. Nigeria depends heavily on fossil fuel for electricity generation due to the vast deposits of crude oil and natural gas in the country. Nevertheless, the vast deposit of crude oil, Nigeria still generates less than 4000 MW of electricity with per capita consumption of about 0.03 kW. Hydropower, being one of the available sources of energy, can be transported instantaneously and pollution free to the consumers making it attractive as compared to other forms of energy. Hence, the authors reviewed the available literatures on hydropower generation to evaluate its sustainability in Nigeria context. The literature search was made as wide as possible to capture all relevant data required. The searches covered databases specific to scholarly articles on hydropower generation sustainability. From the studies, it is shown that the potentials of hydropower generation in Nigeria if fully exploited can significantly improve the energy mix of the country that would sustainably serve its population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveys of the costs of inputs assigned to pollution abatement (Stated Costs) have been the principal method used to estimate pollution abatement costs. While surveys have been widely used, problems with these surveys may adversely affect their ability to accurately measure pollution abatement costs. In this paper, we propose a method that does not depend on surveys of input costs. Instead, a nonparametric cost function that models the joint production of good and bad outputs is used to identify the cost of inputs assigned to pollution abatement (Revealed Costs). The increased input costs when the bad output is not freely disposable compared to input costs when the bad output is freely disposable constitute our estimate of the revealed cost of pollution abatement. Our model is illustrated using data from coal-fired electric power plants in the United States for 2000–2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy recovery is an environmentally, economically and socially acceptable approach for the management of mucilage biomass. In this study, electricity generation potential of mucilage biomass by microbial fuel cell was evaluated. Mucilage biomass was used as electron donor substrate in the anode chamber and azo dye was used as electron acceptor in the cathode chamber. The maximum power density value (16.3 mW/m2) obtained in the raw mucilage is considerably lower than the power density (57.9 mV/m2) obtained from the mucilage biomass thermochemically pre-treated at high pressure and temperature. In the cathode chamber, over 87% azo dye removal was obtained. During operation under anaerobic conditions, an increase in soluble COD was observed with electron transfer due to the simultaneous continuation of dehydrogenation and biodegradation processes in the mucilage biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart meters are among the fundamental components of smart grids due to their features such as high-accuracy energy measurement, remote reading, and control. They are also utilized to reduce the rate of illegal electrical energy use in some distribution areas. This paper presents the development of a Wi-Fi smart meter and designing a smart plug-in device for customer-side energy management. In this way, a method that does not require additional infrastructure and extra investment for remotely reading the energy consumption in environments with common Wi-Fi networks, such as large shopping malls, business centers, community buildings, villa cities, and university campuses has been proposed. The Wi-Fi smart meter and smart energy metering module (SEMM) support various user-friendly applications in accordance with the infrastructure of the smart grid and smart building applications. The SEMM is capable of measuring, monitoring, and remotely managing each electrical device. Thanks to the developed mobile application, customers can monitor their Wi-Fi smart meter data and also the consumption of each electrical device through the SEMMs as well as remotely manage these devices. The application examples presented in this study are also aimed at increasing awareness of energy saving for customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on the two important gaps in the literature. The first is solar energy- powered electricity generation in a more economical way via the integration of flat plate solar collector (FPSC), an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), and an absorptional heat transformer (AHT) system. Another gap is advanced exergy analysis of the AHT cycle/ORC process based on renewable energy integration to reveal clues for improving the system. To close these gaps, a novel system including a lithium bromide AHT cycle-ORC with a FPSC system application was proposed in this study. In this proposed system, the temperature of the heat source for the ORC system was upgraded via an integration of the AHT and FPSC cycles. The main components of the AHT cycle are the condenser (ABScon), refrigerant cycle pump (P1), evaporator (EV), absorber (ABS), solution heat exchanger (SHX), absorbent cycle pump (P2), expansion valve (V), generator (Gen), ORC turbine (ORCT) and ORC condenser (ORCcon). To demonstrate the electricity production from solar energy in a more economical way thanks to the proposed system, a comparison was made with similar-scaled existing solar power plants. The results supported the main purpose of this study. The annual electricity production with the proposed system was calculated as 2601 MWh, with initial investment cost and payback period values of US$3.924 million and 4.531 years, respectively. The conventional and advanced exergy, exergoeconomic, environmental impact, and sustainability analyzes were also performed. Based on these, the novel performance parameters and prioritization method were proposed to assess the improvement potential of the system. The results indicated that SHX and FPSC had the highest exergy destruction rates (EDRs) of 23.711% and 21.849% over 5853.89 kW due to the stronger thermal and chemical reactions. Similarly, Gen, FPSC, and SHX had the highest ED cost rates (CRs) of 67.59%, 59.09%, and, 47.98%, respectively. Gen, V, and ORCcon were higher contributors to the exergy destruction rates of almost all the components. However, these showed an adverse manner for irreversibility activities. So, the temperatures of Gen and ORCcon should be optimized carefully. ABScon, P2, P1, ABS, Gen, ORCT, and ORCcon had high development priority to improve the whole system. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We need energy. But what are potential solutions to achieving net zero? This paper presents a Christian perspective and overview of nuclear energy in the UK, and other countries, within the context of government policies to achieve net-zero emissions while ensuring national security. The growth of renewables is well-known but nuclear energy’s positive contribution is often unrecognised in our energy mix for producing electricity. Nuclear provides clean, low-carbon baseload electricity and has its place alongside variable renewables in tackling climate change. Besides large reactors, small modular reactors (SMRs) are being considered within energy strategies. Beyond electricity generation, future nuclear plants offer cogeneration. Furthermore, nuclear plants do not create the air pollution associated with fossil-fuel emissions. This paper encourages people to become more informed about the place of nuclear energy by looking at an evidence-based approach and encourages discussion in an open, honest, and respectful way about its merits in protecting people and our planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main factors for changes in the structure of the energy mix in Poland is the development of renewable energy sources, in particular wind generation. In 2009–2020, the installed capacity of wind sources in Poland increased more than ninefold. At the same time, new legislation significantly curbed the development of onshore wind farms. Further development of wind energy in Poland will rely largely on offshore wind farms. The current state of development of wind power in Poland allows for analyses of the onshore part of wind energy development in Poland. The paper aims to conduct a detailed analysis of the Polish wind sector from an electric power generation perspective. This article presents a comprehensive discussion of the development of onshore wind generation in Poland. In particular, analyses address the production of electric power from wind. Various time horizons are taken into account, as well as the correlation of wind generation with demand for power in the Polish Power System (PPS). The results of the analysis indicate a high variability of wind generation throughout the month or year. The largest wind generation occurred during the night valley, which makes it difficult to operate the power system. In the winter months, wind generation is much greater than in the summer months. Monthly average values of the capacity factor for onshore wind farms (WFs) vary from 0.14 in August to 0.48 in February. Moreover, the coefficient of determination R2 close to zero shows a lack of correlation between offshore wind power generation and real power demand in the PPS. The studied high variability of wind generation in PPS can be mitigated by the wide use of electricity storage systems. Moreover, the obtained results can be part of a model to describe the energy mix in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the research on hydrovoltaic conversion has made rapid progress, showing potential prospect in the field of power generation. However, it still faces many issues, such as expensive, uncontrollable engineering, undetermined mechanism and difficulty in commercialization. To provide a low-cost, undemanding and practical strategy, the carbonized rice husk was first used to construct a biogenetic membrane device in this work, giving a sustaining hydrovoltaic voltage at ∼160 mV. Relevant studies that associated with mechanism and key factors for hydrovoltaic process were also implemented founded on different test conditions. It is proved that the fluids flow driven by evaporation and capillary effect is an essential prerequisite for hydrovoltaic conversion. The mechanism for generating electricity should be attributed to the streaming potential theory, which can provide an electric potential difference by selective transmission of ions owing to the Debye shielding effect. Based on this as-proposed theory, the controlling projects like improving pressure difference (ΔP) of fluid, ambient temperature and humidity, which generally enhance the hydrodynamic driving force and effective flowing area, logically demonstrate positive answers on hydrovoltaic performance. Moreover, in view of the super hydrophilicity of carbonized rice husk, this biogenetic membrane has demonstrated strong sensitivity on human breath monitoring with rapid response for every breath, which provides a potential way for the practical application of hydrovoltaic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate geothermal exploration and production in 189 hydrothermal projects and 42 hot dry rock projects around the world. The hydrothermal fields for a working hydrothermal system to generate electricity should have the elements of heat source, water-saturated porous or fractured reservoir, caprock, heat transfer pathway, and good heat preservation condition and geothermal power energy intensity of 10e20 MW per km² within at least 5 km² area in tectonically active region. The hot water or steam flow rate in this hydrothermal system is normally larger than 40 L/s with temperature of 150 °C or above. The power generated from enhanced geothermal system (EGS) in hot dry rock projects are generally less than 2 MW because the flow rate in most cases is much less than 40 L/s even with the hydraulic fractures using the modern stimulation technology learned from the oil and gas industry. The natural fracture in the subsurface is generally beneficial to the hydraulic fracturing and heat recovery in the hot dry rock. Moreover, the hydraulic fracture parameters, injection rate and well spacing, drilling strategy should be properly designed to avoid the short-circuit between injector and producer and low heat productivity. In the future, CO2 enhanced geothermal recovery associated with CO2 sequestration in the high temperature oil, gas, and geothermal fields maybe a good choice. On the other hand, both nearreal-time seismic monitoring to limit the pumping rate and the closed-loop of the Eavor-Loop style system without hydraulic fracture can contribute greatly to heat recovery of hot dry rocks and mitigate the risks of the hydraulic fracturing induced earthquake. Furthermore, the hybrid solar and geothermal system performs better than the stand-alone geothermal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geothermal energy utilization in China had been promoted actively during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016e2020), with resultant achievements showing unique Chinese characteristics. Buildings (measured by areas) heated/cooled by intermediate-to-deep geothermal energy increased more rapidly than those by shallow geothermal energy. Geothermal power generation was restricted by the distribution of the resource and the sufficiency of local power supply. With the proposition of "dual carbon goal" by the central government of China and the coming era of great development of renewable energy, geothermal energy will be provided more development opportunities in room heating/cooling and power generation in the country ever than before. However, tackling technology bottlenecks and introduction of appropriate policy support are still urgently needed for nurturing a healthy environment for geothermal industry. Analysis suggests that a near-to medium-term development of geothermal energy shall be focused on a comprehensive and efficient utilization both through heating/cooling and power generation. Room heating/cooling by intermediate-to-deep and shallow geothermal energy shall be promoted nationwide according to local resource endowment and economic conditions. Geothermal power generation in Yunnan and Tibet shall be pushed forward in an orderly way. For medium- and long-term development, focus shall be put on power generation by using low to medium temperature geothermal energy and hot dry rocks. The "hot spring +" model shall be adapted in steps on a regular basis. To achieve these, measures including attaching importance to tackling key technologies, promoting standards for geothermal energy development and utilization, strengthening geothermal energy exploration and evaluation, and seeking for necessary policy support shall be taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the photovoltaic (PV) conversion process, a significant amount of solar radiation is converted into heat, which increases the cell's temperature and reduces its efficiency. A system consisting of PCM and aluminium fins was developed to minimise power loss due to temperature increments. Using PCM as heat absorbers in this study, heat from photovoltaic panels was transferred more efficiently with aluminium fins. The PV panel temperature is regulated by this method in hot climates as a passive cooling method. To regulate the surface temperature of PV panels, RT28HC was used as PCM. The reference PV panel was compared with a container-integrated PV panel with PCM and flat aluminium fins and a container-integrated PV panel with PCM and perforated aluminium fins to regulate the temperature of the PV cells and improve the efficiency of the panels. In the laboratory, with an initial ambient temperature of 20 °C, an experiment was conducted for 60 minutes. The results of the experiment show that the average surface temperature of the PV panel decreased by 8.32 °C from 49.24 °C to 40.92 °C with flat fins and by 8.55 °C from 49.24 °C to 40.69 °C with perforated fins. The maximum electric power generation by the PV panels increased by 7.43 % compared to the usual PV panels from 1.48 W to 1.59 W with flat fins and by 9.46 % from 1.48 W to 1.62 W with perforated fins as the surface temperature of the PV panels decreased. The surface temperature and generated current, voltage, and power of the uncooled and cooled PV panels are plotted over time in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome its reliance on burning fossil fuels for energy generation and water desalination, Kuwait has pioneered research and cutting-edge projects in renewable energy since the 1980s. This paper examines the power sector in Kuwait and emphasizes the government’s keenness to diversify the country’s electric power supply. It provides a comprehensive overview of Kuwait’s efforts, to emerge as a leading example in the region, fostering collaboration and matchmaking within renewable energy industries. The country’s goal is to meet 15% of the demand for power from renewable energy by 2030, including a reduction in energy use in the building sector by 12% and a decrease in CO2 emissions by 33%. The country’s initiatives revolve around harnessing renewable sources, particularly emphasizing the exploration of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Challenges and opportunities are presented to provide information for international institutions, technology companies, designers, researchers, and decision makers, aiming to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of PV project implementation in the country and the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of heavy metal pollution has gradually emerged as a significant global concern. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) hold immense potential for clean energy production and pollutant treatment. However, their limited power generation efficiency hampers the large-scale implementation of MFCs. The porous microstructure of biochar and the excellent physical and chemical properties of rutile render both materials promising catalysts with positive potential. In this study, we employed biochar as a carrier for rutile to fabricate a novel rutile–biochar (Rut-B) composite material, investigating its efficacy in enhancing MFC power generation efficiency as a cathode catalyst, as well as its application in heavy metal pollutant degradation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results confirmed the successful preparation of biochar-loaded rutile composites. The MFC achieved maximum current density and power density values of 152.26 mA/m2 and 9.88 mW/m2, respectively—an increase of 102.7% and 224% compared to the control group without the addition of Rut-B. Furthermore, the biochar-loaded rutile MFC exhibited excellent performance in degrading heavy metal pollutants; within 7 h, the Pb2+ degradation rate reached 92.4%, while the Zn2+ degradation rate reached 84%. These rates were significantly higher than those observed in the control group, by factors of 437.2% and 345%, respectively. The cyclic degradation experiments also demonstrated the outstanding stability of the system over multiple cycles. In summary, this study successfully combined natural rutile with biochar to create an efficient electrode catalyst that not only enhances electricity generation performance but also provides an environmentally friendly and cost-effective approach for remediating heavy metal pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Politicians and the public alike doubt the ability of nuclear power in the United States to compete as a significant low-carbon emission contributor to electricity production in a fully decarbonized electricity sector. Establishing whether or not these doubts are justified is challenged by the complexity of the highly disaggregated US electricity markets, including the highly varied mix of subsidies, production credits, and power purchase mandates that exist at the individual state level. The authors focus on answering the question of nuclear power's competitiveness by examining the electricity market of Sweden, a nation which has already fully decarbonized its electricity sector, basing its electricity generation entirely on a mix of hydroelectric power, nuclear power, and the use of biofuels, with much smaller contributions from renewables such as solar PV and wind-generated power. In this market, nuclear power is an effective competitor against renewable power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water evaporation is a ubiquitous natural process for collecting thermal energy from the environment. Carbon nanomaterial‐based aerogels are good candidates for use as hydroelectric generators (HEGs), permitting substantial interaction with water through electronic coupling, and have been considered for application in evaporation‐induced electricity generation. However, the water transport and electricity generation ability of the aerogels are affected by their pore structures. Inspired by the directional transport of the water vessel elements of the xylem, a biomimetic partially reduced graphene oxide aerogel (prGO) with an aligned porous structure is prepared, assisted by directional ice templating. The as‐prepared prGO aerogel presents a high capillary water transport rate and can efficiently transport water to the top, which is the basis for efficient current generation. This biomimetic prGO is scalable, providing an avenue for assembling other low‐dimensional carbon materials into high current output HEGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents research on modelling the operation of an independent electricity generation system consisting of a photovoltaic installation and energy storage in the form of electrochemical batteries (PV/BAT). The generation system was considered primarily in the context of its sizing process, i.e., the selection of the installed power of the photovoltaic installation (PV) and the rated capacity of the battery (BAT). Traditionally, the model includes a one-year analysis of the generation system based on initial (nominal) parameters without considering component performance degradation. The novelty of this research lies in the long-term simulation of the system operation, considering the degradation of its components. The sizing process was based on the numerical method. The best solution is selected on the basis of the economic criterion, while satisfying the reliability condition. The simulations were conducted using Matlab software. Using a comparative analysis, the scale of technical and economic oversizing of the system was determined by considering long-term reliability. For the assumed customer load profile, insolation profile, and battery operation in the range of 25–100% of the available capacity, providing the assumed level of reliability after accounting for degradation in the sizing process resulted in a 33.33% increase in the rated battery capacity, an 18.75% increase in the installed photovoltaic plant capacity, and a 19.5% increase in the system cost of electricity (LCOE) relative to the results of the sizing process without accounting for component performance degradation over the years of operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]